Here’s one way to think about an IPL treatment: it treats skin discoloration caused by too much sunlight by using more light. In some ways, this may sound counterintuitive. So below, we’ve outlined some of the most important things to know about intense pulsed light treatment (or IPL, or IPL laser, orIPL photofacial). We cover the science behind it, the treatment itself, and other factors (like pain and cost) that you may be wondering about before trying it yourself. Click one of the questions below to get started:
What is an IPL treatment?
The intense pulsed light is broad-spectrum light energy. So unlike a cosmetic laser, which uses a single wavelength of light, each IPL treatment emits light at multiple wavelengths in order to simultaneously target a variety of dermatological complaints, such as age spots, broken capillaries, and other types of skin discoloration. This makes it slightly stronger than an LED photofacial, which won't affect pigmentation and doesn't involve as much heat. From a handheld device, the IPL passes through the outer layers of the skin into the dermis, where their wavelengths are absorbed by melanin, tiny blood vessels, and other sources of irregular pigmentation.
What does it treat?
Age spots. Sun spots. Liver spots. Solar lentigines. No matter what you call them, those flat gray, brown, and black spots on the skin are its main target.
How does skin discoloration happen again?
All skin color is the result of a pigment called melanin produced in the epidermis. Each person's skin produces melanin at certain rate, but ultraviolet rays from the sun accelerate that process, which creates a darker, tanned appearance.
Over years, melanin can become particularly concentrated in one area and clump together to form age spots, typically on the hands, face, shoulders, and other areas regularly exposed to sunlight. (Freckles are produced through a similar process, but their formation is much more strongly predicted by genetics and by whether you're dressing up as Raggedy Ann for Halloween this year.)
